DrewMelton's Forum Posts

  • I've posted about this before. I even think I put in a feature request. It would be nice to at least be able to go to a highlighted event (after you close the search) without having to scroll and look for it.

  • geoff Moore Thanks! I'm hoping to get back on track with some more updates soon.

  • Yeah, I've held off on doing music so far because I have so many things to work on. I also wanted to get some gameplay done first. I'll be doing the music and sound effects after I get some more levels and enemies finished.

    Luckily, I have been playing musical instruments my whole life, and have a few years experience with keyboard as well. I have decent recording software (Studio One 2), a midi keyboard, and some decent sound libraries, so I'm all set.

    I'd like the music in my game to be subtle and atmospheric, like in the Thief series, since that was also an inspiration for my game. I don't want loud music tracks, except for maybe when in combat, otherwise, it should be fairly soft and help build tension while sneaking around a dangerous castle.

  • mercy Thanks! That HUD took a lot of work, and I tried quite a very different styles before I was happy. I've been working on it ever since I started the game, because for a game like this, that's how you control and interact with it, so it has to look good. Also, as an artist, I can't bear the thought of anything not looking good, lol. I had a few graphic design classes, but my major was actually painting.

    I'm definitely going to put a strong effort into a trailer or whatnot. I am also going to do a very detailed illustration for the title screen/promo art.

    I was hoping to get my level built with full z-sorting walls and create a new video explaining it, but last night I didn't feel well, and today I got stung by a yellow jacket right on my index finger. It actually hurts just to type. I'll get it done soon though.

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  • Cool, I hope to get a demo out at some point, though it will be a while, if it's possible that is. Either way, most of my time from here on will be building levels or creating more enemies, so it will be much more fleshed out soon.

  • Pillars of Eternity is also very similar to Baldur's Gate (RPG 2D isometric) and it seems to sell well with good review

    I've been tempted to pick that one up. It seemed cool.

    Also, the fact that they can release enhanced editions of these 15 year old games is a good sign that people still enjoy the old fashioned isometric genre. I have EE copies of both BG 1 and 2.

    Baldur's Gate II still ranks as one of my favorite games.

  • c13303 Thanks! This has definitely been a ton of work. Luckily, I feel like I have already gotten over the major hurdles. From here on out, maybe some tweaking and fine tuning, and maybe a bit of problem solving here and there, but I don't think there will be anything I can't handle.

    I think I have environment tiles that work finally. I hoped to get them done last night but a cold or sore throat made it hard to finish. Maybe I can get it done today if I feel better and have a new video up soon.

  • jobel Thanks! I hope your game is coming along too. I've haven't heard much since we last spoke.

    Anyway, today I'm going to be refining my environment tiles. The z-order sorting was working "okay" but still had some issues with walls not being behind or in front in certain spots. I am going to try some different size wall sections and see what works best.

  • Thanks! Baldur's Gate is definitely my main inspiration. I've even got a tool that will allow me to view the backgrounds and animations for study.

    I'll also need to figure out a way of doing fog of war that looks good. That's one reason I changed the lighting so the tops of the rooms are dark.

    I have no idea how Baldur's Gate did its fog of war. I thought I read somewhere that it was a 3d effect. I know it's based on line of sight, but it seems very advanced. I've done basic fog of war mechanics, but none to that level.

    I "should" be okay with z-order sorting in regards to the architecture. I organized the levels into small grids and sections that are easy to manage. I'll be doing the z-order tests tonight or tomorrow. The characters are already sorted, it's just the environments I need to do.

  • While I'm working on getting some stuff done for combining multiple rooms and working out the template and z-order sorting for that, I thought I'd ask for an opinion.

    I am trying the lighting without global illumination or any light that would shine on the outside walls. All the light comes from inside the building. I think it looks pretty cool, but I wanted to see what everyone thinks. The only downside is that the outside doors (bottom right corner) will be harder to see, but they will still highlight when moused over. Other than that, it does pop pretty well and give a nice immersive effect.

  • sielxm3d Thanks! Working alone definitely makes it harder to stay focused because I would love to spend all day doing fancy animations or level graphics, but since I have so many things to do I have to balance my time. Of course, the upside is that I get to keep all the profits, and I get to make the game I want to work on. In the future, who knows, I'll see where things take me. I'll either stay solo or join up with a team. It just depends.

    This game has come a long way, and it's finally getting to the point where I am happy with it. A few more months of work, and I think it'll be ready for a release.

  • Yeah, that's why it's something I've been heavily debating.

    The way it works now is that you can only "see" one room at a time, but everything is still connected. Each door leads to the next room, and the rooms are all arranged as part of a large floor plan. You can go back and forth between doors as you please in any direction.

    I would definitely like to experiment. Since I have only built the templates for the rooms' graphics, I can go either way. I'm not restricted to doing one room at a time. The only reason not to would be if I start running into issues with C2. With the foundation I've built though, I should be okay. I always plan ahead and keep my options open.

    I am going to do some tests this week and see how a larger area performs. I am probably going to design it in sections of various sizes depending on what is manageable (and what makes sense). I am also going to fire up Baldur's Gate II EE again and do some more studies of how it did level design (and how it handled pathfinding or fog and whatnot). It had levels of various sizes, some with doors, some with larger areas, and all that. After some studies, I should be able to draw up a floor plan that lets me get what I want without too much trouble.

    If I can get larger areas with multiple rooms connected working, then that will be the path I take for level design. I'll just have to see what C2 lets me get away with.

  • So do you have plans to eventually make large levels?

    Honestly, that's something I have been heavily debating on for quite a while.

    The benefit of doing one room at a time (like in the screenshots) is the a.i. is easy to work with, I do not need a fog of war, z-order sorting is less of an issue, and I can build as many as I need with no performance issues.

    The benefits of a larger level with more rooms is that you can see more so it may feel more like an actual castle, and you could use the building's layout as a strategic element. It may also look nicer. I'd probably make some small changes though. It would be a little harder to manage I think, but maybe doable.

    Having one room also forces the player to find his way through the castle and treat each room as an obstacle. It really is a toss up, and this will be something I consider very heavily this week once I get going on the floor plan.

  • Okay, I did the graphics for the basement and mine areas. I'm not sure if there will be any more or if this will be all. I just need to make sure I have enough to create a full game world. The three main levels of the castle will share a very similar floor plan, and the basement and mine areas will be a little different. All will be connected so you can freely move back and forth at any time.

    The basement has some stone and whatnot and some dirt floors. I put in a bit of water as well.

    The mine area will be more maze-like and be completely underneath the castle. It'll also be where you enter the castle since I'm putting the method of entry as a forgotten or neglected mine shaft that was never sealed off. That will be how you gain access to the castle (and escape as well). I've also created a few more props such as boulders, tools, and some other things.

    I'm going to start on the floor plan which will be very detailed. I'll even number the doors so I can keep things in order when I get back to programming it. This will be the stage where I start designing the layout and shape of the rooms so the game is fun and strategic. I'm also going to make a few more props to add in for variety and helping make the rooms look different.

  • Trickshot Thanks! It always makes me feel good to know that people want to play the game! Even though this is my first release, and it is also functioning as a learning experience, I am also pouring my heart and soul into it to make it as good as I can.

    When I was deciding on how to make the combat system, I thought about how to make it interesting. It will be a short game, as most rogue-likes are, with permadeath. So, I need to make it interesting to fire up and play at anytime. To do this I looked a couple of other games. I watched someone playing Heroquest on the Amiga, and looking at the dice rolls, it seemed like a fun system. I also recently started playing Morrowind again, and I liked how there was an element of chance in that as well. Combining the element of chance with a bit of skill and decision making seemed like a fun system.

    So, I sort of combined the gameplay of Baldur's Gate with some other bits from other games, and my own system of gameplay of course, to make a game that didn't give the same experience every time. Combined with being able to go anywhere in the castle at anytime and having a choice of multiple routes, I think the game will be fun to replay.

    I also made the game into one room at a time so you cannot "cheat" and look ahead to see where you are going and where the guards are. The doors will be locked until you unlocked them, so you are forced to make decisions such as "do I try and kill this guard or look for an alternate route?" "do I try and lockpick this door before the guard sees me or try and ambush him for a combat advantage?" little things like that.